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Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad is the ultimate salad for dinner night! With lots of fresh tomatoes and cucumber, crispy bacon, homemade croutons, and a quick blackening seasoning for the chicken, this salad is beautiful and delicious! Hearty, healthy and entirely homemade, you'll want to make this one again and again!
- Fresh Ingredients! - This recipe was inspired by the end-of-garden, seasonal abundance of tomato, cucumber and basil!
- Blackened Chicken - The dry rub seasoning on this chicken has become our go-to favorite! You can find a similar version on my Blackened Chicken Alfredo Pasta, Blackened Chicken Tacos with Cotija Corn Salsa and these Blackened Salmon Rice Bowls. It's so so good!
- Love this Salad? This salad is a favorite and can be made all year long, but it's especially good with the garden tomatoes and cucumbers! Check out these 31 Summer Dinner Recipes and these 50 Fall Dinner Recipes for lots of meal ideas!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Lots of fresh ingredients, bacon and chicken, plus homemade croutons and a simple dressing make this salad mouth-watering delicious!
- Blackened Chicken - Seared in a skillet and finished in the oven, chicken thighs or breasts are generously coated with a dry rub spice blend. The blackening seasoning is full of spice pantry staples, and the brown sugar is really the key to balance it all out! Try making your own Homemade Brown Sugar next time you run out!
- Bacon - Chicken plus bacon makes an amazing salad, cooked quickly and evenly on a sheet pan in the oven.
- Homemade Croutons - You can use store-bought croutons, but it's very simple to make your own with any kind of bread you have, a little olive oil and seasoning!
- Romaine Lettuce - Any type of lettuce will work, but crispy crunchy romaine holds up nicely to the abundance of toppings!
- Tomato and Cucumber - My late summer garden was overflowing with tomato and cucumber, so they've found their way into this salad! You could easily swap other veggies, like bell pepper, carrot, broccoli, olives, avocado, really any veggies you like!
- Red Onion - A few slices of sharp red onion add great flavor. If you aren't an onion fan, you can leave them out, or use milder shallots, scallions or chives.
- Feta Cheese - Big chunks of creamy salty feta are essential on a chopped salad! I like to buy a block of feta that comes in a tub of brine and crumble it myself for the best quality and flavor. You could also substitute blue cheese or Parmesan.
- Homemade Vinaigrette - A quick shake in a jar and you can easily make your own homemade vinaigrette! The fresh garlic clove is key for good flavor, but you can swap the red wine vinegar for white wine vinegar. You can vary this salad with any dressing you like, creamy ranch or my Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing would be good too!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
The chicken, bacon and croutons cook together in the oven while you get everything else prepared!
Step 1 - Mix together the blackening seasoning and generously coat the chicken on all sides.
You want the chicken in thin pieces, so if it's thick, slice it in half horizontally.
Toss the cubed bread on a sheet pan with olive oil and dried herbs, and lay out the bacon strips on another sheet pan.
Step 2 - Preheat the oven to 400°F and a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
Sear the chicken in olive oil in the hot skillet, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't try to move it around while it sears, and don't let it cook too long or the sugar will burn.
Transfer the skillet to the oven to finish cooking through, along with the bacon and croutons.
Step 3 - Wash and chop your veggies and shake the ingredients for the dressing in a jar to emulsify.
Keep an eye on the oven, the chicken should be ready in about 10 minutes, the croutons 18 minutes, and the bacon 20 to 22 minutes.
Step 4 - Let the cooked chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Toss the chopped romaine lettuce with some of the dressing and add it to a platter.
Arrange with the rest of the ingredients and another drizzle of dressing over the top. Garnish with lots of fresh basil.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Cooking the Chicken - This is my favorite method of cooking chicken, searing it first in a skillet on the stovetop, getting that nice crispy caramelization, and then finish cooking it through in the oven. The oven time will depend on how thick your chicken pieces are. The best and safest way to know if it's done is to use a thermometer. The internal temperature should reach 165°F. Let the chicken rest 5 minutes before slicing.
- Adjusting the Portion Size - This salad is an easy one to adjust and customize to your liking! The amounts or ingredients don't need to be exact, so add extra of what you have or leave out what you don't. The salad pictured served 4 as a dinner portion. The amounts can be adjusted up or down to feed any number of people.
- Storage - Leftover salad with dressing doesn't keep very well, but is fine in the fridge an eaten the next day. You will likely have extra dressing, it can be kept in the fridge for a month and used on any salad. Let it come to room temperature before re-shaking.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this salad can be served completely cold, or with the chicken, bacon and croutons still warm, so it's fine to make ahead and refrigerate. You can add all the ingredients to the salad, but wait to add the croutons and the dressing. Shake up the dressing in the jar and keep it on the counter or refrigerate if making a day or more ahead. Then add dressing drizzled over the top if the salad is arranged on a platter, or you can toss everything together! You'll want to let the dressing come to room temperature before using. You could also make the salad completely, the lettuce tossed with the dressing, about an hour or so before serving and keep it in the fridge.
This chopped salad is very versatile and flexible. You can add or substitute any different veggies, different cheeses, or different dressings. You could add hard boil eggs or a can of chickpeas or white beans. You may also like this Steakhouse Salad Bar Salad!
Once you try this blackened chicken, I think you're going to love it! It makes great sandwiches with lettuce, tomato and onions. It's perfect on tacos or rice bowls. Try it in wraps with ranch dressing, black beans and corn! The possibilities are endless!
More Garden Inspired Dinners!
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Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad
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Print Pin RateIngredients
For the Blackened Chicken
- .75 to 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
For the Croutons
- 2 cups bread cubed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
For the Salad
- 6 strips bacon
- 1 to 2 heads romaine lettuce washed and chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes cut in half (or any tomatoes)
- 1 cucumber chopped (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup feta cheese
For the Dressing
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400℉ and a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
- Mix the blackening seasoning together and sprinkle over the chicken, coating it generously on both sides. Lay out the bacon strips on a sheet pan and the bread tossed with olive oil and herbs on another.
- Add the olive oil to the cast iron skillet and sear the chicken, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Don't attempt to move it around while it sears, but do make sure to flip it before the sugar burns.
- Transfer the skillet with the chicken to the oven, along with the bacon and croutons. All can cook together, the chicken for about 10 minutes (depending on how thick it is), the croutons for about 18 minutes, and the bacon for about 20 to 22 minutes. Check on them all often, especially watch the bacon so it doesn't burn. Check that the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉.
- Allow the chicken (and the bacon) to rest in the skillet for 5 or 10 minutes so they aren't too hot when you add them to the lettuce.
- Wash and chop the lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes and thinly slice the onion.
- Add all ingredients for the dressing to a jar with a lid and shake well to emulsify.
- Toss the lettuce with a bit of the dressing, then arrange it on a large platter topped with the sliced chicken, chopped bacon, croutons, tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, feta cheese and another drizzle of dressing. Serve while the chicken and bacon are still warm. Garnish with basil leaves.
Notes
- Chicken - You want the chicken to be thin so it has plenty of surface area to be coated in the blackening seasoning, and so it cooks quickly. If you are using thick chicken breasts, slice them in half horizontally.
- Warm or Cold - The salad can be served while the chicken, bacon and croutons are still warm, or these can be made ahead and refrigerated and served cold.
- Tossed or Arranged - I like to toss a little dressing with just the lettuce and then serve on a platter with all the ingredients arranged over the top. You could also toss everything in a bowl.
- Ingredients and Amounts - This salad is very flexible and customizable, add or omit ingredients and adjust the size to fit any group.
- Dressing - You won't need all the dressing. Extra can be refrigerated for a month and used on any salad. Let it come to room temperature and re-shake. (Nutrition info includes all the dressing). This salad would also be good with my Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing as an alternative!
Meryl Downing says
The chicken in this recipe is delicious! Love the combination of fresh ingredients and warm bacon and chicken. Great dinner salad!